\[Serenity’s POV\]
I nod and give everyone a look of reassurance as Jolene bounces to my side. It is clear that she is more than ready to get to experimenting, and that aspect alone makes me think that she and Tristan could really get along. But that single thought is ruined by the way the man in question glares at her, clear jealousy in his eyes.
Sighing, I turn my gaze to my arm and watch as Jolene wraps a tourniquet around it and feels around.
“Oh,” she giggles, her eyes flashing with excitement. “This one is juicy.”
Growing quiet, she preps her needle and then attacks, stabbing it deep beneath my skin and hitting the vein perfectly so that burgundy blood begins to pour out. As it does, I feel Maverick grow tense, but after I give his hand a gentle squeeze, he relaxes.
“All done!” Jolene announces, patching me up and then jiggling the vial of blood she has collected. “What’s next?”
“Next,” Tristan announces, snatching it from her. “We see if our hypothesis is right.”
As he speaks, he heads over to a table that has been set up with a microscope and other supplies, including a computer that is open with a blank screen. As he does, I shift my weight, getting comfortable on the bed as Maverick takes a seat beside me, causing my father’s angry gaze to travel toward us. However, Maverick doesn’t move; instead, he tightens his hold on my hand as if to tell my father to try it.
You’re becoming bold. I giggle inwardly, enjoying this side of Maverick. But one of these days that man is going to challenge you to a match.
“Now,” Tristan announces, ending the awkward situation. “We see if Serenity’s blood can turn humans to wolves.”
Grinning, he starts preparing a slide with my blood and then mixes in human blood. Immediately, memories of the other time he did such a thing come rushing back, and I can’t help but wonder if we will see the same thing happen.
“Ready?” Tristan asks, looking around the room.
“Just get on with it.” My father huffs. “Why are you even asking that?”
Paling, Tristan whirls around and places the slide under the microscope and then turns to the computer. After a few minutes of clicking and typing, the slide appears on the screen, but everything is blurred.
“What is that supposed to be?” My father asks, clearly not happy with what is happening. “Are you fucking around or...”
“Just wait,” Tristan chuckles, pressing his eye against the microscope's viewfinder. “I’ve just got to…”
Growing quiet, he begins to adjust things, bringing the slide into view and out until, finally, we can make out the cells that are moving about on it.
Instantly, the room around us grows quiet as we watch the cells slowly move about. They mix and unmix, then move away from each other. They don’t do like they did when my blood was mixed with a wolf's, and that alone gives me mixed feelings.
In a way, I was happy because it meant that Ezekial couldn’t turn innocent humans into his minions, but I was sad because this meant any chance of Maverick being turned back into a wolf was gone.
“Are they supposed to be doing that?” Uncle Jose asks, breaking the silence that has fallen around us. “Or is this…”
“They’re not mixing.” Jolene explains for Tristan. “Nor are they trying to overpower the other.”
“What does that mean for us idiots?” Uncle Jose pushes.
“It means that Serenity’s blood has no reaction or interaction with a human's.” Tristan responds, shooting Jolene a look that screams triumph.
“Then that means that we don’t have to worry.” My father announces. “Isn’t this a good thing?”
At his words, I turn my gaze to Maverick, who sits quietly beside me, watching what is happening on the screen. From his expression, you can tell that he is deep in thought, but he doesn’t give way to what it is that he is thinking about.
“Can we try one more thing before we call this a fail?” He suddenly asks, drawing Tristan and Jolene’s attention toward him.
“Depends,” Tristan responds. “What is it?”
“We’ve experimented with normal human blood, but can we try to see what happens if we use a wolf turned human’s blood?”
Growing quiet, he waits as Tristan and the others stare at him, all their expressions saying that they thought it was ridiculous to ask, but no one wanted to say it. Well, almost everyone.
“What are you expecting to happen?” My father asks, being the only one to say something. “We’ve already seen that…”
“That her blood doesn’t do anything to a human’s.” Maverick finishes for him. “But we haven’t tried the same thing with the blood of those who were changed and saved.”
As he speaks, I don’t miss the hint of hope in his voice. It’s heartbreaking to hear given everything that he went through, and in the moment, I find myself willing to do anything to bring him back to the man he once was since my blood and my family line were the reasons that he wasn’t the proud wolf and warrior he once was.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” Tristan announces before my father can create an argument. “You just have to…”
“Blood, right?” Maverick asks, getting up and heading to where Tristan stands. “No problem.”
Lifting a finger to his mouth, Maverick bites down, easily tearing the skin there, and once red droplets begin to bubble, he holds it over a slide and lets it fall there.
“Is that enough?” He asks, sticking his finger in his mouth and sucking on it. “Or do you need more?”
“That’s plenty,” Tristan assures him. “Thanks.”
Nodding, he heads back to my side and sits while Tristan preps another slide, and once he has it ready, he positions it under the microscope.
Holding my breath, I watch as he begins to adjust the view, and when everything comes into sight, I feel my eyes widen as gasps echo around us.
“That’s,” Jolene murmurs, her eyes lighting. “A REACTION!”
A reaction was an understatement with the way the blood was rapidly combining, mixing, and becoming one and the same, but did that mean that if Maverick drank my blood again, he would become a wolf, or was my blood just considering his to still be a wolf even though he was human?
“What does that mean?” Uncle Jose asks. “Remember, we need explanations here.”
“It means,” Tristan begins slowly. “That there is a reaction, but we don’t know exactly what it means.”
“And how do we find out?” Uncle Jose pushes.
“We would have to have Maverick drink Serenity’s blood and then wait to see what happens.”